I tried something new with the Electrolux DLX Assistent mixer! On Saturday I drove to a dairy friend's barn and got some fresh milk. I saw the cows being milked and it was warm and everything...I mean REALLY fresh milk. Anyways, after it set for awhile, Steven and I skimmed off the cream and put it in the mixer with the double whisk. It spun for about eight minutes. We did nothing but watch it. Then, the whipped cream suddenly turned into little yellow balls that soon clumped up and voila! We had homemade butter! I rinsed it under cold water and poured the leftover buttermilk into a glass cup. We hope to use that tomorrow for buttermilk biscuits. Can you believe all this?! No churning, no shaking, just stand and watch for a bit and we get fresh butter. I am so amazed, in case you can't tell!

Steve's parents were remarried the Tuesday before Christmas. This is a shot of them down at the county courthouse right after tying the knot! 

Back in the saddle again and training a new buckaroo! 

Caleb loved all the special Christmas foods and treats; can you tell? 

My new Electrolux Assistent DLX mixer with attachments to do about anything, except wax my floors! I'm still learning how to use parts of it and am hoping to brave the pasta maker pieces today. 

The Swann's Swimmings
Hi All!
Christmas became quite the extended holiday this year. We began by enjoying a quiet and quaint time with just our immediate family. We reminisced over the past year and made hopes for the next. Later on Christmas Eve we invited Steve's parents over for some more fun. The kids were both surprised by their big presents and that predominated the rest of the day, figuring out how to train the new dolly and set up a newer computer. The candlelight service became a beautiful celebration of the joy of our Savior's birth. Steven preached and I sang in a quintet, "Go Light Your World" near the end of the service. The next morning was such a refreshing time to spend Christmas morning with not only loved ones of our blood family but the dearly loved ones of our church family too!
Steve's brother John surprised us by showing up two days earlier than we had expected so we got some more time with them during the week. His wife Marisa Nicole looked so natural holding and mothering their two babies, Abigail 14 months old and Elijah 10 weeks old. I eagerly held Elijah when he slept (he didn't take to me too much when he was awake). Abby finally seemed to like me by the last day and that thrilled my heart. The love of a child is a precious gift. Nicole hadn't seen snow before and it snowed the night before their last day! Of course, we had record setting high temperatures while they were here the other days :( Anyways, we took a few hours Friday afternoon to go snowmobiling!!! I love it and miss it and what a rush!!! We only tipped one of them once, so that was a good thing too.
New Year's Eve Eve (not a typo, we had to move it so the pastor could still preach Sunday morning) the youth group hosted a game night at church until midnight and then we left while they stayed and played much computer and playstation games for the remainder of the evening. Our two boys were WIPED out on Saturday!
Wednesday we left for Sioux Falls and were able to spend supper and part of the evening at my Aunt Mary's house with her family, my Aunt Andrea and her son Michael, and my Grandma Kunkel. The food and atmosphere were delightful. After not seeing them for well over a year, it was overdue to catch up again and reconnect a little.
Later, we made it to my parent's house and met my brother Dave and his wife Laurie there as well. The counter was loaded the whole weekend with yummies, many of which made it back to our house too :) Thursday morning we ran a few "Big Town" errands around Sioux Falls and then headed home for our traditional Sloppy Joe dinner and presents in the afternoon. We laughed over games and really laughed about these crazy, fun chairs that the kids got. You sit in them but then you can rock all the way back but THEN you have to try to rock all the way forward again. Think Ab-Roller meets captain chair. It's a hoot! BAd news of this trip: the van breaks down, really breaks down. So Friday we basically wasted time looking at a replacement vehicle and fixing my brother's van, which also broke down but not quite as much. We found one we liked but it was only 15 minutes before their closing time and that's just too short of a ti meframe to make a decision like that. So, we ended up borrowing my folks' fancy new van to get home and my Dad is fixing ours, quickly from what I hear. We also celebrated my birthday there with cake, ice cream, presents and some new clothes. I love shopping with my Mom! All's well that ends well!
On the way home, we stopped for a too short breakfast with our dearest friends from Madison, Tom and Amy Brown. Amy went all out and made some breakfast feast for us. What fun to see them too, albeit for just a bit.
Sunday, a teen girl from our church came over before Sunday School and dolled up my hair for the actual "Big Day" of mine. Don't ya just love having someone do your hair for you? Church went well. Ok, selfishly I loved having lots of people tell me "Happy Birthday" and give me presents. I wish I wasn't so self-centered. We had a relaxing afternoon playing our latest game craze, Settlers of Catan. If you haven't tried it yet, come up and we'll teach you! Then Steven put a blindfold on me and took me out for a drive. Do you know where this is going? Eventually we get somewhere and when he takes of the stocking cap pulled over my eyes, it's a surprise party with homemade pizza! What joy! I've never had a surprise party before and didn't expect one since Steven had already taken me to Sioux Falls as my birthday present for four days. But a dear friend here dreamed the whole thing up and actually surprised my hus band with the arrangements on the night before, after we had arrived home. So we ate and the little girls serenaded me like four times and then those that didn't have little kids came over to our house for some Catch Phrase and a Christian Newlyweds game. Fun times until the clock strikes eleven and work and school come the next day. So Cinderella changed into her pajamas and went to bed blessed with love.
We live such spoiled lives. Thank you for being part of God's blessings in our lives. We appreciate you all so much and are grateful for our relationships with you.
Love,
Marcia for the Swann's
P.S. Just because we love you doesn't make getting Christmas cards out any easier. They are still sitting on my dresser waiting for attention. Maybe Groundhog's Day.